Vikash V. Gayah

Vikash V. Gayah received his PhD in transportation engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and was the 2011-2012 recipient of the University of California Transportation Center's Student of the Year award. Currently, he is Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University (gayah@engr.psu.edu).

One-way streets in downtown areas are receiving a critical look. City officials and urban planners have started a movement to convert downtown street networks from their traditional one-way operation to two-way operation. This effort seems to be largely successful—many cities (e.g., Denver, CO; Dallas and Lubbock, TX; Tampa, FL; Des Moines, IA; Salina, KS; Kansas City, MO; Sacramento, CA) have either recently made or are in the process of making such conversions. These conversions are intended to improve vehicular access and reduce driver confusion. Many additional factors go into this decision, but the general premise is clear: travelers and residents prefer two-way streets for a variety of economic and livability reasons, while traffic engineers and transportation planners believe that one-way streets serve traffic more efficiently.
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